


Such A Babe

by sugarshoneys



Series: 30 Day Writing Challenge [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, First Kiss, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Pet Names, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 04:03:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15016262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarshoneys/pseuds/sugarshoneys
Summary: 5 times Steve calls Bucky a pet name and 1 time Bucky calls Steve one, from the 1930s to 2014.





	Such A Babe

**Author's Note:**

> Day 2 of the 30 day fic challenge! The prompt was "Pet names"

1.

When Bucky walked in the door with a busted lip and bruises littering his face, Steve was on the couch drawing, not an injury in sight, and all he could think to say was “This just feels backwards.” 

Bucky looked like he would've laughed if he wasn't in so much pain, so Steve took that as a little win and then placed his sketchbook aside to get up and help guide Bucky to their couch. He noted how Bucky flinched when he put his arm around his ribs, then went to get a rag and some whisky to clean his wounds. He sat himself down on the other side of the sofa, and looked up at Bucky expectantly, but Bucky only blinked at him.

“Well?” He sighed. “What happened?” And Bucky rolled his eyes at him before answering. 

“I was walking home and I saw a coupla guys beating on this little guy in an alley and calling him a queer, and him being little and all, he reminded me of you, and then I couldn't just leave 'im. So I helped him fight the guys off but they got a few mean kicks and punches in.” Bucky explained. Steve looked at him silently before taking the rag and beginning to gently dab at Bucky's cuts. Bucky flinched a little, but looked at Steve like he was waiting for something. “Aren't you gonna yell at me?”

“No, sweetie. You did the right thing, helping him out. You know it's what I woulda done.” He responded calmly, until he realized what he'd called Bucky. His eyes widened but he elected to pretend like it hadn't happened and continued cleaning his wounds. A moment later, he'd done all he could for Bucky's face, so he moved on. “Need you to take your shirt off so I can check for cuts there.” And that's when he really looked at Bucky's face and noticed his cheeks were splotched with red and his eyes were wide, but then he just shook his head and moved to unbutton his shirt. They never talked about this again. 

 

2.

Steve had just finished painting a commission and got paid real well, and Bucky thought it was worth going out drinking to celebrate over. So here they were, a table towards the back of the bar, Steve nursing a beer and Bucky gulping his down, Steve getting ignored by dames and Bucky flirting with every pretty girl who passed by their table. It felt more like they were there for Bucky, Steve thought, as he brought his beer up to his lips. And that's when he locked eyes with Bucky around the side of the bottle and caught him watching his lips.

Steve and Bucky were both well aware of the tension between them, both knew how the other felt, but neither of them dared do a thing about it. Not in these times, not when it could risk them getting beaten to death or arrested. So they looked sometimes and they longed, but they didn't do a thing. Suddenly Steve felt the need to get drunk, and he chugged the rest of his beer before ordering a second. He was a lightweight, it wouldn't take much. 

And that's how they ended up stumbling home 2 hours later, Bucky having to hold Steve up with an arm around him. Luckily, Bucky had the sense to not drink much more once Steve had really gotten going, and he was aware enough to know they were in trouble when Steve stumbled a bit too hard and knocked into his side, pushing Bucky against the wall of the alley they had been passing through. And suddenly Steve was pinning him to the wall and standing on his tiptoes, trying to kiss him. It took everything in his power to not let him, to lean his head as far back as he could before wrangling Steve again and starting their walk home back up again. 

He was vaguely aware of Steve grumbling next to him, but he tried to tune him out and get his thoughts back in order. Of course, the second he tuned in, the first thing he heard was “Maybe you shouldn't go out lookin’ like such a babe if you didn't want me to kiss you.” and that was all it took for him to push Steve against the wall and kiss him right there. The part of his brain that was still working was thinking about how dumb and dangerous it was to do this in public, even if it was in an alley at night, but mostly his head was playing Steve calling him a babe on repeat. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like ages and it was a long time coming. And then Bucky stepped back and threw his arm back around Steve's shoulder, called him an idiot, and they got going again like nothing had ever happened. 

 

3.

When Peggy told Bucky just how Steve had gotten where he needed to be in order to save him and the other captured soldiers, Bucky immediately stood up and walked right up to Steve just to punch him in the face. 

“You jumped out of a plane without a fucking parachute, God, I can't believe how dumb you are.” He began when Steve looked at him shocked and confused. “I can't believe you'd do something like that just in case I was alive.”

And then Steve was giving him a shit eating grin, despite the brand new cut on his lip. “I'd do anything for my best guy.” he said. And Bucky couldn't not hug him, fuck it if the commandos saw and made the kind of assumptions that could get him dishonorably discharged. 

“Don't you dare do a stupid thing like that again.” Bucky whispered into Steve's ear before pulling back and going to apologise to Peggy for leaving her mid-story. She gave him a big smile and a thumbs up for punching Steve, and he knew then and there he'd never be able to hate her even if he found himself feeling jealous of her. 

 

4\. 

Steve knew that reminding Bucky of good times they'd had together before the train put him in a better mood, sometimes even made him smile, although his smiles were extremely rare these days. Even if Bucky couldn't remember what Steve was talking about, it made him happy to know that at some point he'd been a good and happy person, and that he'd made Steve happy. He also said he liked hearing Steve tell stories, and that's how most nights they ended up with the couch cushions on the floor, Steve talking and Bucky listening, so similar and yet so different to how things once were. Bucky remembered that they did this when they were kids, but Bucky was the one telling stories back then, and Steve was still the little guy Bucky secretly felt special for being the only one to have known in person. Despite these differences, it still created a nostalgic environment, perfect for what they were doing. 

Tonight, Steve was talking about how Bucky had always insisted on going out to drink and celebrate when one of them got a particularly large sum of money. He was happily chattering on about one night he'd drunk so much he could barely stand and Bucky had to help him walk home or else he'd be falling all over the place, until suddenly he trailed off as though he'd remembered something painful. Bucky looked over at him in confusion, eyes widening when he noticed Steve tearing up. 

“Stevie, are you okay? What's wrong?” He asked, trying to ignore the feeling of panic making his breathing pick up and heart race. Steve sat up then, too, and gave him a sad smile. 

“Yeah, Buck, I'm good. I just remembered something I'd forgotten before is all.” He replied, voice only the smallest bit shaky. Bucky cocked his head to the side and inspected his face. He couldn't tell if Steve was super upset or not, so he tried racking his brain for the night Steve was talking about. Maybe if he could remember what Steve just had, he'd know how to help. 

After thinking about it for a moment, Bucky found himself back in 1938, pinning Steve to a wall in an alley and kissing him until he snapped back to reality with wide eyes staring at Steve. “We… were we like that?” he said, voice barely above a whisper. Steve looked back at him, and then they just sat and made eye contact in silence. “I just remembered kissing you. Is that what you remembered?” And Steve nodded.

“I was so drunk, I didn't even realize that happened until now. And now I'm realizing if I'd known back then, things could have been different.” He sighs. “I knew back then that you felt something for me, and I felt something for you, but you didn't seem to wanna do anything about it so I just kept my mouth shut. But maybe I shouldn't have.” 

Bucky felt his breathing picking up again for another reason, because he’d just decided he was gonna kiss Steve in a minute. But he wanted to set it up right, first. “Do you remember why I kissed you?” he asked.

Steve snapped his head up and met his gaze. “I didn't know. I know I tried to kiss you but you pushed me off, but then I was grumbling and maybe you were trying to shut me up?” he guessed. Bucky shook his head in response.

“You called me something. I liked it.” He stated simply. Steve's eyes widened at that.

“You mean 'cause I called you a babe?” He shook his head. “If I knew that that's all it took to get a kiss from you, I'd have done it a lot more since then. Babe.” and Bucky laughed and leaned in and then they were kissing again. It was different from their kiss in ‘38, less intense, less dangerous. This felt like coming home. Bucky smiled into it before breaking it off to laugh, pushing his head into Steve's chest. He flicked him when he heard Steve whisper “babe” again. 

 

5\. 

Steve and Bucky weren't really big on PDA, and they never really mentioned the nature of their relationship to Steve's (and Bucky's, now) friends. Not that Bucky mentioned much of anything around them. He was the most himself when he was alone with Steve, but around others he felt the need to be careful and guarded. Sam said those instincts would come down with time, and he honestly hoped like hell that that was true because he could tell it made Steve sad to see him so untrusting, so different from who he used to be. He knew Steve loved him whether he was the guy who flirted with every girl who'd let him get 2 words in or whether he was the guy who had to sweep the apartment for bugs every time they got home, but he still felt bad. 

Bucky's walls were starting to come down when it came to the Avengers, though. Especially Sam, Natasha, and Clint, but in general too. He joined their conversations and let himself smile a bit, even if he was quieter than he'd ever been back in the day. Steve always said he was proud of him when he had an especially good day with them, and that made him real happy. On days like today, though, where Bucky was real quiet, Steve still said he was proud of him and Bucky could tell he really meant it, and that made his heart feel warm even if all he'd felt that day was cold. 

Today, Steve and Bucky had been invited to join the rest of the Avengers for a game night, even though they didn't live in the tower with the rest of them. Bucky squished himself into the left corner of the couch and didn't participate in the conversation, instead he stared at the spot where Steve's thigh was pressed against his own. Before he realized what he was doing, he put his hand there on Steve's thigh, and Steve looked down at his hand before reaching to intwine their fingers together. Steve gave Bucky a smile and said “Hey, honey,” and Bucky smiled back despite himself. He still didn't participate in the conversation, but he felt a little better.

A moment later, it was his turn in Monopoly, and since Bucky leaned forward across Steve to roll the dice and move his piece, no one saw their hands entwined. It wasn't like Bucky wanted to hide it, but he wasn't okay to deal with everyone asking questions when he'd lost his words. As he leaned back, he noticed Natasha next to Steve looking at their hands, and he brought up his free hand to shush her. She nodded, and Bucky relaxed. He thought about Steve calling him “honey” until it was his turn. 

+1

Bucky had been working hard to become more comfortable with crowds, and today there was a surprise party for Steve in the tower which he actually found himself feeling excited for, rather than nervous to be in such a crowded environment. Steve was doing a PR event where he showed up in a nice suit and tie and holding his shield, and he took pictures with people for the 4th of July. Tony was responsible for getting him to the tower after; he told him they needed to discuss PR related things asap and set an “appointment” for that day. Bucky was hiding next to Natasha by the couch when Steve came in, and Bucky gasped at how he looked. His suit was gorgeous, just like it had been that morning, but his hair was mussed up and his tie was loosened only slightly. Basically, Bucky wanted to jump his bones. Everyone waited for Steve to turn on the light, but then he asked, “Who's in here?” and everyone seemed to remember his super hearing in unison. Tony used his phone to turn on the light, and everyone jumped up and yelled surprise then. Steve dropped his guard and looked happy, smiling at everyone before his eyes fell on Bucky. Bucky beamed up at him before walking right up to him, kissing him on the lips, and saying “Happy birthday.” 

All the Avengers went silent then, looking at each other with confusion or surprise or amusement, in Natasha's case. Bucky stepped back, and Steve just looked at him for a moment before bursting out with laughter. Bucky shook his head and found himself laughing, too. That wasn't exactly how they'd planned on telling everyone they were together, but it works, he supposes. He elbows Steve in the ribs then, and says, “Maybe you shouldn't go out lookin’ like such a babe if you didn't want me to kiss you.” and then he and Steve are laughing all over again and he realizes some of the Avengers are too, although some of them (Tony) are still just confused or surprised.

Eventually, Sam asks them “So when did that happen?” and Steve and Bucky look at each other.

“Either 80 years ago or a few months ago, depending on how you wanna look at it.” Steve shrugs.

 

Later that night, Steve is drinking some punch when Bucky wanders up to his side and whispers in his ear, “Really though. Such a babe, I was tempted to get on my knees right there in front of everyone.” Of course, Steve chokes on his punch and Bucky laughs his ass off, and things are good. Really, really good.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Any comments/kudos are appreciated. 
> 
> If you see any mistakes please let me know :)


End file.
